Georgia Braces for Hurricane Irma's Arrival

Hurricane Irma hasn’t made land fall in the US yet, but her presence is already being felt in Georgia. Governor Deal has issued a mandatory evacuation order for city of Savannah, other coastal areas, starting Saturday. It covers all areas east of I-95, all of Chatham County and some areas west of I-95 that could be impacted by potential storm surge from Hurricane Irma.

The executive order also authorized up to 5,000 Georgia National Guard members to be on state active duty to support Hurricane Irma response and recovery. The state of emergency prohibits price gouging for all goods and services related to the storm.

Fewer of those evacuees will be able to find. According to a special alert message on the Visit Athens GA website, most hotels in the Classic City are currently full. Those seeking refuge from Hurricane Irma are urged to call 1-800-VISIT-GA or Irma.georgia.org for alternate accommodations.

An 80-member urban search and rescue unit from Arizona is headed to Georgia to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

The Phoenix Fire Department says Arizona Task Force One is among teams being positioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at Albany, Georgia, for Irma duty.

The Arizona task force spent Wednesday night in Shreveport, Louisiana, after leaving San Antonio, Texas. The task force went to Texas last month to help with the response to Harvey.

The Gasoline supply across the country has dropped dramatically over the past week, with prices jumping on average 25 cents / gallon across the nation.

The gas supply will fluctuate drastically in Florida and surrounding areas due to the impending Hurricane Irma making landfall.

The GasBuddy Fuel Availability Tracker – which is available in the free GasBuddy app, and on the web http://tracker.gasbuddy.com -- already shows multiple stations throughout the state without fuel. It also shows where stations with gas and power are located.

Residents in the affected area can use the GasBuddy to find stations with gas and power in addition to reporting to fellow drivers that a station has no fuel or electricity.